Monthly Archives: May 2014

Regardless of what approach to quality is taken, there are still difficulties in the evaluating quality in alternative education which require additional consideration. These include: (1) Who decides what counts as a valuable outcome? Most of the literature on the outcomes of alternative education offers strongly futures-oriented goals of the kind that policy-makers, education systems […]

In education, there are generally three approaches to quality – (1) a standards approach: this works with a set of benchmarks developed by the purchaser/commissioner, to be applied universally (2) a fit for purpose framework: this uses criteria for quality, defined by the provider and user groups in relation to the purpose of the programme […]

Many researchers have lamented the lack of available data on the outcomes of alternative education. There is a great deal of case study research across alternative education programmes – this largely focuses on best practices. There is also research which evaluates individual programmes, and a little of this is longitudinal (e.g. Carswell, Hanlon, O’Grady, Watts, […]

Selecting and training staff Some US school districts require staff who work in alternative provision to possess the highest levels of teacher qualifications as well as additional training in relevant areas such as counselling, special education and therapeutic approaches (Foley & Pang, 2006). However, many US states also face chronic shortages of staff and have […]

National and international researchers (e.g. Aron, 2006; Gutherson, Davies, & Daskiewicz, 2011; Thomson & Russell, 2009; White, Martin, & Jeffes, 2012) suggest that alternative education providers are not always good at stating what are their programme goals, their expectations for students, and how these will be monitored and measured. OfSTED (2011) were particularly concerned about […]

One of the alternative education pathways that are in use is short to medium term full-time alternatives. Students are sent out of the school for anything from a few weeks to a year in order to provide: a break in long term patterns of disengagement, disruption and/or failure; a new experience of success and an opportunity […]

Alternative education providers might need/want to communicate with schools: If they are receiving students via referral procedures If they are offering part time learning options for students who attend school for the remainder of the time If they offer short term placements from which students are intended to return to their schools If they are […]